Monday, July 30, 2007

Bread Baking Day #2

I was quite slack and left it too late to take part in the first Bread Baking Day so when Becke from Columbus Foodie announced fruit as the theme ingredient I made sure to have something ready in time.

I've delved into the pages of Quick Breads by Liz Franklin and pulled out a very simple golden raisin and sultana bread. I have doubled the quantity of fruit as 100 grams seemed very austere for a loaf of this size and personally, I think fruit breads should be full of fruit.

An extra crunch was also added in the form of pearl sugar that I just sprinkled over the loaf before it went into the oven. Here in Melbourne, you can find Pearl Sugar at the Essential Ingredient.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F - butter and flour a loaf pan (2lb/900g/8cup capacity) and line it with baking paper.

Place the milk and golden syrup into a pan and gently heat until amalgamated.

Sift the flour and baking powder together and place into a bowl along with the caster sugar and fruit. Stir this to ensure the ingredients are well mixed.

Make a well in the centre of the bowl and pour in the milk mixture - stir until the mixture has just combined, try not to overwork it.

Pour this into the prepared pan - flatten the top and then sprinkle with pearl sugar.

Bake for about 50 minutes or until the loaf has risen and is golden - check it after 30 minutes and if it appears to be browning too quickly, then cover with foil and lower the temperature of the oven.

Let it sit in the pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool.

When freshly made, serve in thick slices with butter or your favourite spread. This also makes excellent toast.

13 comments:

this bread looks so yummy, I like how there are no eggs. No eggs, no cholesterol :) That pearl sugar... I have never heard of that one before. Doesnt melt, ... hm, interesting. What´s in it, then? strange, ....

Hi Haalo, sounds like you are feeling better now? The bread looks delicious.

Quick breads are a great idea for me now - I seem to have little time to made bread, although I really miss the kneading process. The addition of pearl sugar is great. I've been maning to get some to sprinkle on chouquettes (besides friands, I've also been craving that!)

Haalo, just letting you know that I am printing this off and making this tonite. But I am using sultanas and chopped apricots. I still don't have any pearl sugar, but I am sure that it will still be good.

Baking Report: This recipe is a keeper. So easy to make, so delicious. I love the subtle aroma of the golden syrup. And it's low-fat too, such a bonus (actually, I had some left-over single cream that expires today, so I used 50ml cream & 250ml low fat milk).